muizenberg and pesto pasta

Went to Muizenburg, another beautiful beach yesterday. These are my friends Howie (who goes to WashU) and Laura (awesome girl living in a homestay). Train ride was gross, with men eyeing our bags the entire way. But once we got there we were set. Great waves came non-stop. You can barely catch your breath as they continuously crash over you. There was a shark alarm in the middle of swimming, but luckily I still am holding on to ten fingers and ten toes. I also saw a 13-year-old girl surfing, which gave me a good deal of inspiration for the future, though I’m sure I’m going to wimp out. Went to Knead, a restaurant right on the waterfront. Here's a picture of the best meal ever (mom, get ready to go there.) Very fresh ingredients. The way people think about time here is totally different though, thus the service everywhere has been horrible despite friendly dispositions. Nevertheless, I had two entrees (steak sandwich and an orange/lentil salad) and two beers for less than 20 dollars. Loving the exchange rate. Had some wonderfully delicious ice cream with generous helpings for another dollar. She just kept scooping with no end in sight.

Today was University of Cape Town (UCT) orientation. Everything here is super disorganized. I simultaneously need to plan: classes, volunteering, and clubs, but none of them have the times up, and somehow we’re expected to make it all work out and deal with tons of paperwork. In other words, it's been a breeding ground for anxiety headaches.

For those who know/care, I saw Dex (Park Slope friend since middle school who attends Emory but is on a separate program) for the first time! His house is way nicer, so I’ve become more than a little jealous. We went to Long Street again but to different bars/clubs. Really like being the minority. They keep talking about how race is super prevalent here. However, in a strange way I think about race less because it’s so diverse. Only 14% of the population is white and everything seems more integrated for the most part.

Also, our RA (resident advisor), Hunja, is amazing. He’s originally from Kenya and has the most joyous smile I've ever seen in my life. We ate pesto pasta with sautéed tomatoes and garlic and had a long conversation about religion and life. There’s a place, Ark, I want to maybe volunteer at (where I climbed trees with kids). However, it’s totally faith(AKA Christian)-based. When one of the men in charge of the program came to speak about the site, he discussed how it’s motivated by the desire to first and foremost help the spiritual needs of those in the community, which is done with the help of Jesus Christ. Though it has the most variety of things to do (it has a drug rehab center, a nursery, a school, etc.), as an existential atheist Jew, I think that can pose a variety of serious challenges. Still, I think it might be a really positive thing that would require a good deal of tolerance and compartmentalization. I just haven’t decided whether it’s worth the challenge yet.